Yarra City Council upholds order for Alphington Grammar to tear down main gate and fencing

An inner-city council has come under fire after upholding an order for a school to tear down its front gate, paving the way to a dead end, sparking fears for student safety.

The Old Heidelberg Rd gate into Alphington Grammar School has been at the centre of a longstanding dispute between the Yarra City Council and the school community. Picture: Tony Gough

A fight over a gated fence at a Melbourne private school has reached boiling point as parents say a planned $403,000 road upgrade by the local council would be a “road to nowhere”.

City of Yarra Council has upheld a decision ordering Alphington Grammar remove a gate across an entrance to the Darebin Creek via Old Heidelberg Rd.

The gate in question — which was repaired in 2003 after a teacher struck and killed six-year-old student Constantine Politis — lies on council land, historically believed to fall inside the school boundary.

The gate remains closed to the public throughout and after school hours – opening only to students and school staff throughout the day.

In 2020, the council claimed the school constructed the fence across Old Heidelberg Rd without its approval, saying residents had complained the gate restricted their access to the Darebin Creek.

The long-running battle sparked an online petition in 2022 which garnered more than 3000 signatures, after the council “demanded the school remove the fence and gates across the entire entrance to allow for public access to the Darebin Creek and the bike trail”.

Since then, Alphington Grammar has erected a fence along the school boundary — blocking public access to the creek — while remaining on the school property.

Ahead of the June 17 council meeting, a concerned parent told the Herald Sun the forcible removal of the gate would put students at risk, as well as wasting ratepayers money on a “road to nowhere”.

“Children between three and 10 years old are crossing from one side of the road to the other, and the only thing protecting them is that fence,” the parent said.

“The whole idea of removing the fence is to grant public access to the creek, but it’s blocked off by another fence inside the school anyway — removing the gate would literally be creating a road to nowhere.”

On Tuesday night, the council voted to approve the 2025-2026 annual budget, which included the costing for work to remove the gate, resurface the road and paint in a pedestrian crossing, however did not outline the cost for the removal of the existing gate or the cost of a new playground on the site.

Mayor Stephen Jolly said he was “very comfortable” with the previous council’s decision on the gate’s removal. Picture: Mark Stewart

On Tuesday night, Yarra City mayor Stephen Jolly said councillors were able to overturn previous orders on any issue, but he was “very comfortable” with the decision his predecessors had made regarding the gate.

“I for one will definitely not be moving to change it,” he said.

“You should lobby the nine councillors … before the September deadline.”

Alphington Grammar has been contacted for comment.